Italian Chopped Salad
The first time I made this recipe I was hosting my family for an Italian Christmas dinner. I was really happy how it turned out. The pepperoncinis make the salad, and I simply had not used them much before making this.
I encourage people to eat a variety of plants. This salad is a simple way to get 6 or more plants all at one meal. It is colorful with lots of great texture too. You can omit an ingredient or substitute with another ingredient if you have something on hand that you would like to use up.
To make this a true chopped salad, you can pulse it in batches in a food processor and serve in large scoops on the middle of a plate.
Italian Chopped Salad
This salad is perfect any time of year and can be served as a side dish or main meal.
Ingredients
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 1/2 radicchio, medium
- 1/2 red onion, medium
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup pepperoncini pepper or use mild banana pepper rings
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp olive oil organic, unfiltered or you can omit
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup or honey
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
- 2-3 Tbsp pepperoncini juice from the jar optional
Instructions
- Wash and chop all salad ingredients to your prefered size. For a true chopped salad you could pulse the ingredients in batches in a food processor.
- Whisk salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- If the entire salad will be eaten at time of serving, stir in the dressing. Keep dressing on side if all or part of the salad will be served later.
Notes
If you are not a fan of Dijon mustard, feel free to omit it. You might want to add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a lemony viniagrette.
Some great add-ins would be olives or bell peppers. You could even add cooked pasta to make it even more satisfying.
I’d love to hear your thoughts when you make this. Comment below.